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Autobot FFA
Space Hulk - Alpha Centauri System - Space A massive space station of unknown origin, this hulk is at least thirty kilometers in length and half of that in width with many decks of varying purpose. Once, this place appears to have been a combination habitation research and manafacturing facility for ancient cybertronians or a similar race, but now it is nothing so much as a giant hulk. The hallways are metal grating, resistant to all but the most powerful weapons fire and cutting tools with most high enough for a gestalt to walk without crouching. Occasionally, larger chambers that were either research laboratories or manafacturing chambers are larger still. The facility is eerily empty and has been striped of anything of useful value eons ago, leaving only empty walkway and rooms filled with dust, detritus and debris. It is still lit by flickering orange emergency lightning, but in many places this too has gone out leaving spooky patches of shadow and shifting blackness as lights go on and off for sometimes minutes at a time. The layout of the facility is both simple and confusing at once with main elevators to move from deck to deck that are usually still online. The problem is the massive maze of access and maintenence tunnels, catwalks and the like that once provided support systems to this huge favility. After an extended time on board this empty hulk, it is not the shifting lights or the emptiness that is going to get to visitors. It is the sounds. The facility has gone without maintenence for eons, endured micrometeor strikes and failures of stability systems. While gravity and atmosphere are on functional, the facility complains with the eerie groans of stressed metal, the dripping of fluids from undentified places and the cha-chunk of lightning coming on and off. Occasionally, some moving piece of environmental systems in a catwalk or the like almost give the illusion of something alive up there. A creepy and abandoned space hulk: a dead and haunted mass of metal mazes drifting through space. The perfect place for a bunch of giant robots to fight each other to pop an Olympics television rating. Olympic crews have been hard at work outfitting the derelict behemoth with thousands of hidden cameras installed throughout. Gathered crowds are actually on a ship orbiting the Hulk, watching the event on hundreds of giant screens, even as the live footage is broadcast across the galaxy. Each Autobot has been placed at a random starting point on board the ship, with no knowledge of the location of the others. A single red light drone floats beside them. When it turns green, the match begins. Will they run and find an opponent? Will they hide and snipe unwitting passerbys? Will they find an ally and hunt together? With this location, strategy and cunning have become every bit as important as strength. Onboard the spectator ship, a cheer goes up as the voice of televised galactic combat, Cyborg Jim Ross arrives. The Oklahoman is more machine now than man, but still one hell of a play by play guy. He tips his cowboy hat to the crowds and settles in to the broadcast booth. "Good evening everyone, my name is Cyborg Jim Ross, and what an Olympic contest we have for you tonight! The Cybertron free for all, meaning you're going to see Autobots of all shapes and sizes in one hell of a duckpond brawl! But before we get started, allow me to introduce our special guest color commentator, here to shed some expert knowledge on the Autobots fighting tonight, the Aerialbot known as Slingshot! The Harrier flies in and transforms in front of the broadcast booth, to the delight of the fans. Slingshot waves and takes a seat. "Slingshot, welcome to the broadcast!" Cyborg Jim Ross shakes the much larger robot's hand. Slingshot throws up an Aerialbot sign to the camera and winks. "Pleasure is all yours, my man! Looking forward to seeing some 'Bot on 'Bot crime, you know what I'm saying? "I do know what you're saying!" Jim Ross responds, "I've got to ask you, any odds on favorites for a winner?" "Well, seeing as I'm not in there roughing it up with these numbnuts and bolts, there's a few factors to take a look at. Air Raid is tough, but damn those wheels are tiny. First Aid is crazy nice, but people underestimate him for it. Skydive has the brain, and Outrun has the speed. Elita One is like Optimus Prime but pink, and I'm pretty sure Repugnus breathes acid lasers. Also, Swerve. Really Cyborg Jim Ross, it's a question of who wants to be a winner like Slingshot?" Jim Ross nods attentively and then turns back to the camera. "Well, we don't have to wait long for answers folks, because it's time to get this slobberknocker rolling!" The drone is red. The drone is red. The drone is red. The drone is green. Situated about a third up the bleachers in a decently sized box, Fusillade restlessly bangs the back of her heels against the pedestal of her seat. Her saffron optics flick over the Autobots as they trickle in, "I don't even see any Wreckers or Dinobots yet, I hope it's not going to be -too- boring" she says petulantly, despite the empty enercubes strewn about the floor. A faint glimmer of interest crosses her face at the sight of the occasional Aerialbot, but she doesn't rescind her earlier complaint. Hack and Slash politely stand back, and occasionally ply her with more beverages containing tart additives. Well, not ALL the Autobots were down there preparing to duke it out. In the stands, content to just watch his allies literally beat each other in to pulps, is Grapple. He has a bucket of enersnacks on his lap. For some reason, Grapple is sitting pretty close to Fusillade. He doesn't look like he knows how to deal with this. Space Hulks. Notorious for harboring dangerous alien life forms, making exploration difficult or even suicidal. The close quarters are especially dangerous, since they leave little to no time to react to enemies coming around a corner, slashing, grabbing, biting--and that's just how Repugnus likes it! "HEEHEEHEEHEE!" he giggles as he stalks through a ventilation shaft. He can make out multiple heat signatures. Which one will he burst out of the ventilation shaft to stab first? Combat: Bug Creature strikes Swerve with his SUDDEN PUGSTEALER ATTACK (Punch) attack! Outrun is walking around the space-hulk, trying to map it before the fight starts but this place is really confusing. As he hears the signal, the autobot special ops quickly evaluates his option and chooses to prepare an ambush. Using magnetic clamps, he climbs until he's near the rood of the corridor. He's now ready the fall like thunder on the first bot that pass under him. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Outrun strikes First Aid with his Flurry of punches (Punch) attack! Elita One glances about at the empty Hulk about her. She raises her cannon as she starts to venture forth, her movements cautious and deliberate. This was her sort of turf, full of ambushes and opportunity. She takes some time to survey the situation. Air vents, barely lit screens, a scrapped plasma energy chamber...good thing for that, those are deadly for Cybertronians! She muses over the terrain. The low ceilings make it likely at least in her area that she has the advantage over fliers. The rough terrain also means Bot mode is the necessary course of action. The Femme Commander stalks through the corridors, checking her angles as she moves towards the sounds of motion. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Elita One has 'skipped' her action for this round. Swerve jogs off excitedly into the darkness of the hulk when his servo-skull's light turns green! He ducks around a corner! He climbs over a hastily-assembled barricade! He crawls through a giant air duct! After a little while he realizes he has no idea where he's going, and stops to listen for the sound of gunfire, or whatever. In her Elimination Chamber pod, Freezeout is running through the factors that led her to decide to join this contest. SOME TIME AGO Freezeout is looking at a big holo-poster of sign-ups for the Free For All. She seems hesitant. Rodimus Prime walks by. "Oh, c'monnn," he says, clapping her on the shoulder as he passes, and for a moment she's emboldened enough to add her name. NOW Freezeout has her Cryo-Beam Rifle in hand. For some reason, she was picked to start in the deep, dripping bowels of the space hulk, corridors resembling a sewer more than anything else. She activates a headlight and begins walking, gun in hand. Combat: Freezeout sets her defense level to Guarded. Air Raid is popping his finger joints and bouncing on his heels as the drone turns green. "Tch, WHEELS! I don't even NEED wheels!" Strategy and cunning are not his strong points, so he doesn't think twice about being loud. He slaps the drone aside and dashes down the nearest corridor, rifle drawn. "WHO WANTS SOME!" he shouts - then spots a bit of red-and-white. "Swerve wants some!" he cackles and fires. Combat: Air Raid sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Air Raid strikes Swerve with his Laser attack! Skydive is a bit surprised he was able to be wrangled into this event, not too keen on fighting. But this was supposed to be fun so the mech takes it in stride. With no time to casual peruse one of his books the event starts and Skydive already has his nega-gun in hand, the other set on the left wall. This place is a maze, yes, but there's always a solution to mazes, namely sticking to one side. So for now the Aerialbot keeps to a casual, quiet pace while traversing the corridors, listening for any incoming Bots with gun at the ready. Combat: Skydive sets his defense level to Protected. As the announcer starts the game, Fusillade perks up and sends a sharp whistle to join the crowd's noise. "Haha, those Aerialbots are -screwed-!" she exults, laughing and slapping a knee. She catches sight of Grapple, and lobs a small container of some inexplicable robotic junk food at him to get his attention. "Hey there, why aren't you down there playing? You look lonely! I think you could place in that field! The fliers certainly aren't gonna have much traction!" It turns out it's the sound of a Monsterbot sneaking up on him through a perpendicular vent to his own, and tackling him into a wall. "Unf! There you are!" Swerve exclaims, in even parts relief (that he found someone), disappointment (that it's Repugnus), and surprise (at something lunging at him out of a vent and attacking him). Oh, and then also Air Raid shooting him in the back while he's busy with that. "Oh, yeah?! You want some too, huh?! I... actually didn't bring enough for everyone." Swerve tries to scorch Repugnus with his cutting torch as he runs away. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Swerve strikes Bug Creature with his Power Claw is not what this is attack! First Aid stands at his spot in the ring. "This ship is in terrible shape!" he complains. "Look at this?" he pats his hand against the wall. "Ref? Ref? Could I get a laser torch to patch up these walls? And maybe some orange paint? I thin kwe could really spruce this place up. Come on, guys! Lets not settle for 'creepy and abandoned'. Lets go for 'alive and welcoming'!" He gives a little arm pump. When Skydive mentions his name, First Aid waves. Then the drone goes red... red... red... GREEN! The medic steps out of his spot. He has no idea where anyone else is on this ship. "Ugh. /Guys/, I can feel the trembling of the deck. When was the last time the engines had an overhaul? Sorry, look, I--... I just can't take this." The medic takes several steps forward and kneels, taking out his medical equipment. "Of all the..." he mutters as he takes off a flooring panel. Reaching in, First Aid starts fixing the cables there and patching them up. Little does he know, though, that the floor board was right beneath Outrun! "Ow!" Aid exclaims as he falls through the now open flooring and vanishes. Grapple 's expression of quiet discomfort turns in to clear annoyance as junk food is lobbed at him. He turns to look at Fusillade, frowning sternly. "I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes." A vague gesture at Repugnus's general direction. "I also have no desire to be in a locked cage with him. He smells rancid enough in an open clearing." Combat: First Aid sets his defense level to Protected. On the spectator ship, the crowd roars as the first Autobot clashes begin. "We're not even five minutes in, and it's already pandamonium!" Cyborg Jim Ross exclaims, pounding the table. "We've got a triple threat situation heating up between Swerve, Air Raid, and Repugnus, and Outrun has the literal drop on First Aid, Sling!" Slingshot nods along. "Yeah, they got baller levels of bravado, but it might be the quiet and steady that win the race, you know what's up? My girl Freezeout, that's what's up. All snowmobiling and scrap." "Very good point, Slingshot," Cyborg Jim Ross agrees. Freezeout emerges from an access tunnel -- a gross one, but we won't go there -- in relative silence. It's easy to mask a little clanking, though, when not far from you, Swerve is trying to escape the wrath of Air Raid and Repugnus. On the one hand, Freezeout isn't sure she's comfortable shooting a fellow Autobot in the back. It seems like such a... .../Decepticon/ thing to do. On the other hand, it's Repugnus. That's when a 50 ACC stat comes into play, and Freezeout's shot strays closer to Air Raid, instead. Combat: Freezeout misses Air Raid with her Cryo-Beam Rifle (Laser) attack! Air Raid belatedly realizes that Repugnus is a total "KILL STEALER!" And he promptly turns to find another target. But he doesn't need to, as Freezeout's stray shot nearly singes a cat ear off. "Ohohoho!" He draws his giant warbow from subspace and pulls back a snapping energy arrow. "I'll buy you some high grade later!" he promises. -THWOK!- Combat: Air Raid strikes Freezeout with his Voltramite Warbow attack! Bug Creature says, "Agh!" Repugnus exclaims in annoyance as the torch slashes a servo on his arm! Unlike most horrible monsters that burst out of hiding places in Space Hulks, this one takes the time to examine the wound glumly and remark, "Hey! I needed that for slashing you!" Just as he raises his claws, though, Air Raid butts into the dance! "HEY! I saw him first! Get your own victim!" He charges around Swerve towards Air Raid, hunched over, hobbling quickly towards him, scythes raised. As soon as he's in range he slashes!" Combat: Bug Creature strikes Air Raid with his Shearing Claws attack! -2 Outrun blinks as First Aid disappears under the floor but he doesn't let this distraction make him lower his guard. The protectobot not being a threat for the moment, the speedster move along the corridor, taking extra care everytimes he reaches a corner of an intersection. At one of these intersection, he spots Repugnus and Air Raid, locked into a fight and take a quick shot at the monsterbot. Combat: Outrun strikes Bug Creature with his Electro Blasters attack! -4 Swerve dives into a hole in the decking and quickly bangs his rotator cuff back into alignment where Repugnus bushwacked him. The laser hole could use a little patch, too, and he briskly slaps one on from one of his supply compartments. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Swerve quickly patches up some of his minor injuries. Elita One creeps forward, her side to the wall. Somewhere above her, a banging motion is heard, trembling through the area. She pauses, glancing upward. The noise subsides for a moment, and her attention returns to the sound before her. She peeks down a corridor to find a fearsome three way fight. Repugnus was in the middle of it. She smirks for a moment, then...declines to enter that particular fray. With a hint of speed, she slips across to the other side of the corridor, then into the strange network of tall walls and fallen scrap. She peeks her head out, noting Skydive. Her fingers roll against her cannon apprehensively. It was an appropriate ambush, but.... She snaps off a light shot above and behind the Aerialbot, "I didn't have to miss." She smirks, enjoying the moment, "Now, we can go toe to toe...or we can go take advantage of Repugnus and the others melee. Up to you." Her cannon hisses with the light energy dispersion. Combat: Elita One misses Skydive with her Disruptor attack! First Aid crawls through the bulk's guts, pushing aside wires and cables as he goes. The Mission Impossible theme song plays as he searches out his quarry. "Oh you cannot escape me..." he mutters. "I know where you are, and I will hunt you down." The vibrations of the maintenance tunnel tell the Protectobot all that he needs to know. "Yessss... I can feeeeel you," First Aid whispers. He turns a corner, slipping through to another section of the vessel. Then he stops. The target is near. He reaches down to his knee (trunk), pulling out a deadly looking laser scalpel. He peers forward, sloooowly reaching up. Then... "/Gotcha/!" ~zap~ With the broken power conduit now fixed, the space behemoth's engines suddenly roar to life. The ship's lighting systems turn up, and the ride is much smoother now that the power grid is back online. The sudden lurch of the hulk's engines coming back online is quite violent, though, and there's a danger that anybody might end up getting smacked into a wall, ceiling, or flying object. Everyone except First Aid, who was holding tight. "Whoops, that was unintentional." Combat: First Aid strikes Swerve with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid misses Elita One with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid misses Outrun with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid strikes Bug Creature with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid misses Air Raid with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid strikes Freezeout with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! Combat: First Aid misses Skydive with his Space Ship Quake Area attack! "Well, they certainly aren't trying to stay hidden." Skydive muses under his breath at the noise of gunfire ringing through the halls. Rounding a corner has the mech stop dead in his tracks however when he spies a flash of pink at the other end, quickly drawing up his gun while a shot soars over his head. Ah, Elita. Hard hitter but takes the hits hard. A good target then. He grins, speaking up, "While we'd have the advantage, I think I've prefer to take you on. Care to dance, Ms. One?" With that he quickly shifts to the left and fires off a round from his nega-gun. Combat: Skydive sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Skydive strikes Elita One with his Nega-Gun attack! -1 "So far it's a damn sweathog convention in the center of the hulk! Swerve backs off for a quick repair, while it seems like the rest of the Autobots are trying to take Air Raid and Repugnus out of the fight early! Mah gawd, the shearing claws on that Repugnus! I've never seen anything so vicious in my entire career!" "It's anyone's game in that mess, JR, but whoever walks out of that tangle of amatuers is going to get picked off by 'Bots playing the long game!" Slingshot just shakes his head at the screens. Jim Ross concurs. "That's a good call, Sling! You've got to wonder who is going to be able to match a powerhouse like Elita One after stumbling out of that chaos! But wait! Are Elita and Skydive working towards some sort of temporary alliance? "MAH GAWD WHAT WAS THAT?! FIRST AID! FIRST AID! FIRST AID JUST ACTIVATED THE DAMN HULK!" Slingshot laughs. "What a nerd!" "But that nerd may walk out Champion, Slingshot! I've never seen anything like that before!" Air Raid doesn't expect the Monsterbot charging at him with his crazy bug scythes. They catch him good and set him sprawling. "AGH! Jeez I hope those were CLEAN! What with your janitorial position now, heh heh." Man what an ass. He sits up, only to get knocked back from the HULK LURCH. Though it doesn't do him any damage. "You ain't my ideal dance partner Puggo, but I guess Freezeout'll hafta' wait." Springing back to his feet, he draws another arrow. Combat: Air Raid strikes Bug Creature with his Torque Arrow attack! The Hulk kicking to life takes her interest for a moment. The sheer kick of the ship lurching forward, causes her to brace against a wall to avoid a tumble. Skydive takes advantage. She takes a deadly (to Brawn) shot in the shoulder, grimacing for a moment. As she pulls her hand away from the wound, chips of her own armor come off with it. "Ugh...nasty weapon there, Dive..." Her gaze returns to her enemy as she closes the distance, "My Circuit-Su's a bit rusty, but seems to me I'd better test you out in melee." Is she...Is she...giving tactical combat lessons in the FFA? Elita One vaults over her previous cover, landing just before Skydive, then delivers a spinning backfist at him! Combat: Elita One strikes Skydive with her Cammy Style! attack! Bug Creature gets blasted first by Outrun, electricity arcing over him, then by Freezeout...who just ends up wiffing on the wrong target. The Monsterbot's senses are keen enough to work out who attacked him, especially as he's scanning around, and he tries to figure out who would be the funniest to maul. "Hmmm..." His bulbous optics settle on Freezeout, the hapless diplomat. "I choose YOU!" And he rushes towards her, though he stumbles briefly as the ship powers up and hits his head on a doorway. "OW! Dagnabbit, who turned on the lights!?" Shaking his ugly head, Repugnus elects to transform, and, just after he takes an arrow to the aft, Repugnus remarks, "That's cool, Air Raid, I'll take care of Freezeout MYSELF! Here I come! AHAHAHAHA!" And he dives after the diplomat, hoping to use his momentum to fling them both into the nasty access tunnel--he'll feel much more at home there! The creature spins and twists about into Repugnus's robot mode! Combat: Repugnus strikes Freezeout with his I Don't See What's So Bad About This Place attack! -1 Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Freezeout's Agility. (Crippled) First Aid rubs his head as the ship lurches to life. That actually worked way better than he thought it would. "Aww, don't you feel better now?" First Aid asks. He pats the side of the maintenance tunnel he's stuck in. "Now lets see if we can't get your auxillary systems back online." First Aid crawl crawl crawls some more, finally emerging from the tube in one of the hulk's hallways. He smiles inwardly as at least there's more lights on. "Now then, where's your engineering deck?" he asks. When the space hulk doesn't answer, First Aid grabs his tools and starts wandering off again. Then he stops as he comes to a bashed in panel. Sighing, he takes out his tools and seals up the cracks. He gets another ten robo-feet before encountering a breached wall, which requires a much longer welding job. The burnt out light fixture is next. Then a data relay that got severed. At this rate he's /never/ going to make it to engineering. Outrun manages to hold the the wall, nearly avoiding a nasty fall into a hole in the floor. "What in Primus' name was that? Sounds like a bunch of green aliens working on tech way beyond their understanding...". The autobot ceases this opportunity to escape once more into another passage. After a while he arrives behind a less familiar bot...Freezeout. Taking advantage of the situation, he quickly transforms and attempts to knock her off her feet by ramming into her legs. Outrun falls fowards and folds into a sleek Vector WX3. Combat: Vector WX3 strikes Freezeout with his Charge attack! -5 "Aaa-aah!" Freezeout cries out at Air Raid's air row punches through her shoulder and disrupts some crucial servos. This may be why she's a bit slow on the uptake when First Aid's spacequake knocks loose a pipe from the ceiling, which swings down and chins her good. Freezeout is just recovering from that when she's hit from two directions at once. Outrun slams into her spine, and Repugnus tackles her from the front. There's an unholy crunching sound that really can't herald anything good. "Great... God Ginrai..." she gasps. And then the gasp gives way to her rifle gingerly lifting and attempting to blast a ray of ~~~pure cold~~~ into Repugnus's face, point blank. Combat: Freezeout strikes Repugnus with her Cryo-Beam Rifle attack! Swerve thought he would be safe down here! "Ow!" He winces as a big metal crate, formerly part of the waist-high destructible walls conveniently placed all over the space hulk, slides down into the crawlspace due to the sudden acceleration, and lands on the protective hood thing that covers his head. Still, that crate gives him an idea. By standing on it, he can peek up through the decking and see what's going on without exposing himself to TOO much stray fire. There's Air Raid slinging arrows at Repugnus from that bow he confiscated off of Swindle. And there's Skydive working on Elita One. Swerve wants no part of THAT, but Repugnus has his back turned, at least, displaying some damage where Air Raid's energy quarrels splashed against him... Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Swerve analyzes Elita One for weaknesses. Swerve takes some notes on Elita One's back instead. Aw yeah. Direct hit! Skydive smirks inwardly when his shot lands, though the ship lurching catches him off guard a moment. "Ergh!" Reflexes kick in as he's sent towards a wall, immediatly twisting midair to plant feet on it and kick off back to the floor. This gives Elita enough time to make her move and strike him in the face, whipping his head aside. "Mmf.." He licks a bit on energon at the corner of his mouth after stumbling a step. "Afraid I lack your prowess in CQC, Ms. One. But I'm a fast learner." In a flash he jumps back and stows his gun before the engine on his jet backpack flares to life and sends him rocketing forward with a fist aimed back at the femme's face. Combat: Skydive strikes Elita One with his Rocket Punch (Smash) attack! "That Repugnus is struttin' around like a enuch peacock!" Jim Ross exclaims as the crowds pop for his attack on Freezeout. "But I tell you what, someone better track down First Aid, or he'll win this thing without firing a shot!" "ROCKET PUUUUUUUNCH!" Slingshot yells when Skydive nails Elita. "Hell yeah!" Vector WX3 quickly rolls away to avoid Freezeout's retaliation. He transforms back into his robot mode and keeps advancing. Eventually he arrives right behind Swerve who seems to be taking pictures of Elita or something equally weird. A sly grin appears on his face as he sprints forwards and launches his foot towards the minobot's back as soon as he gets in range. The Vector WX3 unfolds and transforms into the autobot Outrun. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Outrun misses Swerve with his Kick attack! Elita One takes a glancing hit from Skydive's fist, sending her reeling into a turnaround. Fortunately by that time Skydive was past her and out of melee again. "Ooohf!" She groans, as she raises her pistol, shaking the bad code out of her optics. "Good improvisation, but..." She waits for a chance for Skydive to see it coming, "But you left yourself pretty wide open!" Its a strange sight to see her enjoy herself, in combat no less! Perhaps Skydive was exactly the opponent she needed, to help test and challenge each other, and do it without hard feelings. Either way, the flare gun discharges four times, as she tries to pin him down. Combat: Elita One strikes Skydive with her Battle Pistols attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Skydive's Accuracy. (Blinded) Repugnus says, "HWRRMMGH!" Repugnus leaps off of Freezeout as his face is... frozen out...? Whatever, point is, he's got a sheet of ice over his face and it's really inconvenient for him. So, he transforms to make use of his bug face. "Engh. That's better!" he says with a grin. His claws raise to stab into Freezeout, or maybe Outrun, since he's driving by, but then he realizes... they're missing someone! Didn't First Aid sign up for this thing, too? "Hold on a sec, guys." Repugnus hustles out of the access tunnel, his feet making wet plops. Moments later, First Aid will hear something tinking and rattling in the tunnel above him. Is it nothing? Probably. Then... a hole is cut into the tunnel from above, and Repugnus drops in, lunging at First Aid! "HI FIRSTY!" It's like that scene where Vasquez wrestled with an Alien in the air vent in Aliens, except it's just First Aid. Repugnus twists and flips around into his horrific creature mode! Combat: Bug Creature strikes First Aid with his Not Vasquez attack! -2 Air Raid sidesteps as Repugnus and Outrun take down Freezeout. "Mech she ain't THAT hot! ...But she will be!" He draws a pair of incendiary arrows and fires them into the access tunnel. "C'mon gal, get up and kick my nosecone in!" Combat: Air Raid strikes Freezeout with his Grenade Arrow Strafe attack! Combat: Air Raid uses up a charge on his EAGLE TALONS booster pack! Combat: Massive damage! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Freezeout's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Freezeout falls to the ground, unconscious. Swerve crouches down to find something else with which to improve his fortifications and, as it happens, this is just at the right moment for Outrun to go sailing harmlessly over him. It is slow going for everybody's favorite Protectobot (don't even try claiming otherwise), but finally he makes it to the engineering deck with all his tools. From here he might be able to get the engines to purrr like a Rigellian kitten, the life support to deliver fresh mountain air, and the computer banks to once again restore this ship's mind. The Protectobot enters engineering, humming Uptown Girl to himself as he gets to work. He has forgotten entirely about the fight. It is here that Repugnus finds Aid, and the floor suddenly opens up as the Monsterbot lunges up through it. "Eeek!" Aid says. At least by this time he's out of the vents and in engineering. "Getitoff! Getitoff! Getitoff!!" he shouts, kicking madly. He falls to the ground, but Repugnus has his legs! First Aid thus kick kick kicks! to try and get Repugnus off of him. Combat: Swerve strikes Outrun with his OSHA-Unregulated Worksite attack! -3 Combat: First Aid strikes Bug Creature with his Diagnosis: Murder! attack! Air Raid sets Freezeout on fire, along with a fair bit of gross space hulk wall slime which, it turns out, is highly flammable. So Freezeout goes from just being a little on fire to being a /lot/ on fire, really quickly, and she screams, because that's really painful. She gets up and stumbles, trying to find some way to, well, put herself out -- this involves tripping and falling into a vent duct that delivers her into a big puddle of... well, it's probably not water, but the impact at least douses the flames. And that's how a burning unconscious body fell out of the ceiling into a big pool of something, about fifteen feet from Elita One and Skydive. Skydive sails past Elita after the hit, and narrowly avoids Swerve with a quick pivot to the left. But he doesn't avoid Elita's shots which hit him hard, the mech wretching as his engine cuts halfway down the hall and he stumbles against the wall, a hand to his optics. Looks like a shot caught him behind the head, messing up his visual sensors for a moment. "Ergh.. Maybe, but you've got nowhere left to run..." Skydive knows where the walls are, knows they';re wide enough. Time for a bit of ace flying. Spying the end of the hallway through messed vision he makes a sprint for it, jumping to plant feet upon it and spring off in the opposite direction straight for Elita. And no flying punch this time, instead she'll have to worry about a jet suddenly flying right at her! Combat: Skydive sets his defense level to Fearless. Flipping and twisting, Skydive shifts into an F-16C Fighting Falcon, ready for takeoff! Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon strikes Elita One with his Dodge This (Ram) attack! Swerve looks up. "Oh, hey, watch out for that," he helpfully informs Outrun. "I haven't put up any safety barricades or anything." "Outrun might be too fast for his own good, Sling!" Cyborg Jim Ross comments as the speedster misses Swerve with a kick. Slingshot agrees. "See, when you're built with natural talent, you can get cocky. Outrun is fast, but he's getting careless in these melee situations. You can't get cocky, Jim. You know, I'm the fastest and most charismatic Aerialbot, but the reason that I'm consistently the most successful Aerialbot is that I'm mad humble, you know what I'm saying?" Ross gives him a look. "Clearly. And it looks like Repugnus has broken off from the pack in search of First Aid! I hope First Aid's got a game plan, Sling." Slingshot doesn't seem worried. "Like I said, people underestimate First Aid because he collects beanie bots, but give him a chance, and he'll ruin you like Llyra ruins dignity." "I don't know what that means, but WAIT FREEZEOUT IS DOWN! FREEZEOUT IS DOWN! My god, I think she may be broken in half!" On the ship, all of the screens switch to a picture of Freezeout. An 'X' crosses through her face and replays of her eating it are shown on a loop. Outrun is hurt but his ego hurts even more after missing his target in such a ridiculous way. As soon as he can, he jumps back on his feet and sprints away to take cover. After a moment, he decides to pick another target. In this kind of competition you need to keep moving or you're dead. Really it's like a mission behind the enemy line. Eventually, he turns a corner and arrives face to face with air raid. Making his best imitation of John Waynes, he draws his pistols and fires. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Outrun strikes Air Raid with his Electro Blasters attack! -3 Bug Creature grins deliriously at First Aid even as the Protectobot boots him in the face repeatedly. He doesn't let go. "Come on, First Aid! We're all DYING to meet you! We all FLOAT down here, Firsty! Heeha! Heehahahahaa! YAHAHAHA!" And Repugnus's talons dig into First Aid as he tries to pull him down below, into the melee! "WE ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE!!!" "...well, we're in space, after all." Combat: Bug Creature strikes First Aid with his Terrifying Drag Into Doom (Punch) attack! Elita One anticipated the mode change. He's an Aerialbot, he'll play to his strengths, and his strength is flight and skill. What she didn't expect was how reckless the attack seemed. She knew she hit his optical sensors enough to scramble him, and yet he took it in a stride. When the attack comes, she readies herself to jump over it, but Skydive catches her in midjump! She slams into the jet, sprawling against the wing, eliciting another grunt of pain. "Not bad..." She manages weakly, "But how about this?" Holding onto Skydive's wing for a moment, she brings up her cannon, aims at the cockpit and opens fire at point blank range. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Neutral. Combat: Elita One strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with her Plasma Cannon attack! -2 Air Raid is torn because WOO FLAMES AND BURNING and then aw, the poor diplomat. He lingers there having an I'm-a-monster moment before springing back into a jaunty skip down the hall. "WHO'S NEXT! COME ON!" he shouts to the ceiling before meeting the blue visor of Outrun. "Holy-" ZOT! He's jolted by the electrified shots, and jitters himself into jet mode, taking off towards Skydive and Elita. "Whoa! She's gonna' fry ya' Skydive!" He slings a haphazard missile in the commander's direction. Air Raid shifts and twists into his black F-15E Strike Eagle mode. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Elita One with his AIM-9X Missile attack! "That sounded like a plot spider," Swerve says to himself, the Pennywise quote floating back to him on the wind. "Better go check it out!" He climbs out of the hole and transforms to zip off down the corridor in the direction of the sound! Going through Elita in the process, if he isn't quick enough to go around her. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Aggressive. Swerve transforms. Truck Quest! Combat: Two-Tone Scion Pickup misses Elita One with his In Space No One Can Hear Your Horn attack! F-16E Fighting Falcon is a tactician, he works around things and strategizes, but every once in a while even the best can have something slip past them. Elita's point blank shot isn't one he takes very well, his cockpit exploding with a plume of black smoke, the jet flinging Elita off as he spins out down the hall and clatters loudly against the walls until he finally crashes in a smoking heap. "Ngh.. A good fight, Ms. One.. but I think I'll have to concede to you." He's had too much damage, systems already flashing red. Looks like Skydive has surrendered. First Aid doesn't get the reference that Repugnus is going for, unfortunately. But he DOES get that Repugnus is effing scary. "Eeeeeargh!!!" Aid screams, still kicking and kicking as best he can. Repugnus has a good grip on him, though, and Aid can feel himself getting dragged down. He flips around, fingernails digging into the floor until... whoop! He's gone. Beneath the floor, First Aid wrestles with Repugnus as best he can, lashing out with his arms and legs. He isn't strong enough to really hurt Repugnus, though. He needs a weapon. Fumbling around in the darkness while trying not to get sliced to ribbons, Aid tries to grab something in his medkit. A laser torch, an energizer syringe, a scalpel... ANYTHING. Blessedly, First Aid's hand touches something solid and he yanks it out of his knee-trunk and bashes Repugnus in the head with the mysterious object. Combat: First Aid strikes Bug Creature with his Beanie Bot Bash (Punch) attack! "Ok see, Outrun took a moment, got on the same page with his skills, and now he's got results," Slingshot explains, "It's exactly what I would have done- including the part where he shot Air Raid, because Raid is slower, weaker, and drankly, I'm surpised he's still in the competition." "You might be right, Sling." JR nods. "Skydive might as well have sneezed on Elita One for all the damage that jet ramming did." And then he frowns. "So...Repugnus. He's sort of terrible, right?" Slingshot nods. "He's our janitor." "Swerve is still in there, too!" Jim Ross points out, sounding sort of surprised. "And Slingshot is...surrendering?" There's a brief silence before Elita's point blank shot brings Jim Ross back. "Elita One playing dirty there, and it's that willingness to go there that may win her this whole thing! But wait! Raid joins the encounter, and brings in some of that tandem Aerialbot offense!" Slingshot laughs. "That might be the biggest edge in the fight, JR! Those two might be more or less lost our there with out my tight flavor and polish to guide them like a swag as hell North Star that turns into a jet, but they'll have to make do as a two mech trio!" Outrun can only watch as Air Raid flies away but he quickly reacts by transforming and following as fast as he can. He spots Elita through the cloud of dust and debris caused by Air Raid's missile. Since he know her to be a tough warrior, the speedster decides to target her by launching himself through her. Outrun falls fowards and folds into a sleek Vector WX3. Combat: Vector WX3 sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Vector WX3 strikes Elita One with his Charge attack! "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Repugnus grunts as he is hit in the head repeatedly with a one-of-a kind, framed picture of Optimus Prime signed by the mech himself. Okay, that's not what he gets hit with. It's just First Aid's wrench. "FINE! I'll let go!" And Repugnus plops out of a hole in the ceiling above everyone, leaving First Aid's legs to dangle there. "HM! I just realized there's way too much light in here because SOMEONE fixed it! Let's UNFIX it!" And the Monsterbot digs his talons into a circuit breaker, and the lights suddenly go out, leaving several moments of darkness before emergency lights kick in! Combat: Bug Creature strikes First Aid with his SUDDEN TOTAL DARKNESS Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected First Aid's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Bug Creature strikes Elita One with his SUDDEN TOTAL DARKNESS Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Elita One's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Bug Creature strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his SUDDEN TOTAL DARKNESS Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected F-15E Strike Eagle 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Elita One is flung off of Skydive, already correcting to land properly when a missile catches her off guard. There's simply no way to brace for it, and the impact hits home. She hits the ground, bouncing in an attempt to recover onto her feet, and with that, Swerve nearly catches a glancing hit. She pants, recycling her outtakes when Outrun slams into her as well, sending her sprawling. She tumbles several feet aft over optics again and again, then yet AGAIN tries to correct herself into standing. She glances around to ensure there was not ANOTHER attack inbound. With that, she cycles out her plasma cannon for one of her demolition trusties. She launches the scatter grenade into the midst, coming up against all her current foes! Combat: Elita One has created a bomb: "Scatter Grenade"! Combat: Elita One strikes Two-Tone Scion Pickup with Scatter Grenade's Huge Explosion #6608 Area attack! Combat: Elita One's Scatter Grenade is destroyed! Combat: Elita One strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with Scatter Grenade's Huge Explosion #6608 Area attack! Combat: Elita One strikes Vector WX3 with Scatter Grenade's Huge Explosion #6608 Area attack! Two-Tone Scion Pickup reaches the engineering area and transforms again to dive into the crawlspace in pursuit of what he thinks is a horrible fiendish plot spider! It turns out to be Repugnus, but that's close enough for government work. "Shapeshifting into Repugnus isn't going to fool the likes of me! I know what you're about, alien fiend!" Swerve closes in and tries to burn the monster a bit since that worked so well with actual Repugnus. Combat: Two-Tone Scion Pickup sets his defense level to Guarded. The little red-and-white truck transforms into an equally chunky little Autobot with a big face on a small head. Combat: Swerve strikes Bug Creature with his Not Down With The Clown attack! -2 First Aid's legs kick as they dangle above the battle field. Despite his horrible situation, he's actually pretty relieved. He manages to fight off Repugnus! And live to tell about it! "Woo hoo..." Aid says. He tries scrambling back up through the hole to the engineering deck, but instead ends up falling through to the floor below. WHUMP! He's now with Repugnus, Air Raid, Swerve, and Elita One. Picking himself up off the ground, he looks left and right. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" he asks. Luckily, he has a cure for that. First Aid grabs his photon pistol, squeezes the trigger, and... Combat: First Aid's Photon Pistol attack on Bug Creature goes wild! Combat: First Aid misses Slingshot with his Photon Pistol attack! First Aid's shot blasts through three decks, rips through the hulk's outer hull, and flies across space towards Slingshot. "Whoops. I must have this thing set on high." F-15E Strike Eagle does a summersalt, even if jets can't do that! And twirls aimlessly when the lights flicker out. He can't evade Elita's explosion and is sent hurtling towards the ceiling, where his vertical stabilizers become horizontal stabilizers. "OW! Hrrrn! THASSIT!" Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Swerve with his CBU-87 Area attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Bug Creature with his CBU-87 Area attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes First Aid with his CBU-87 Area attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Elita One with his CBU-87 Area attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with his CBU-87 Area attack! Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon falls to the ground, unconscious. Somehow Repugnus also shuts down the power on the spectator ship. People start screaming as they are plunged into darkness. Cyborg Jim Ross continues broadcasting to no one, because he's a professional. "Folks, it looks like one of the Autobots has cut the power! We're working hard to get everything back online, but this fight has gotten out of hand!" A photon blast comes out of no where and sizzles past Slingshot's head. "The hell? First Aid must have set that thing on high." An explosion also descends into the below-deck engineering space after Swerve, showering him with deadly shrapnel! And then another one! Well, deadly to most minibots. Swerve is both tougher and luckier than most. Certainly tougher than Bumblebee. Definitely luckier than Pipes. "See, that's why we wear helmets," Swerve says, patting his cowl gratefully. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Swerve takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Vector WX3 is blasted of his wheels and knocked onto his side, his armor partially shattered by the bombs. He slowly transforms back into his robot mode, "Urrrgg who let Motormaster in?" he mutters for himself while retreating into a corridor to get some cover. As he moves back, he keeps shooting at random target which happen to be Swerve. The Vector WX3 unfolds and transforms into the autobot Outrun. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Outrun misses Swerve with his Electro Blasters attack! -5 F-16E Fighting Falcon is currently being extracted from the area for repairs. "Hey.." He asides to one of the medics dragging him out, "You mind cheering Raid on for me?" A synthesized cough escapes his crackling cockpit speakers. "Help boost his confidence and all that--Argh!!" Just before he finishes Air Raid blasts the area, striking Skydive as well and knocking him out for good. Swerve takes cover from the incoming fire and rests a moment to try to figure out what's going on from a position of relative not-getting-shot-at. "This space hulk is intense! I feel like I'm on a timer or something here! Or maybe as if I didn't know where all the opponents were exactly and they kept reappearing from different entrances!" Elita One shakes the dizziness free, then glances over. Things were far too chaotic out here, and she was out of her terrain. She takes a desperate choice, knowing who she saw over there, and sends a radio message to First Aid <> That was really her only chance to win this thing. Still, it'd be fun to take Repugnus out of the equation. She starts to sprint towards him when cluster bombs impact around her, and again she gets blown up. Fortunately she's used to being a victim of mortar fire, but it still hurts a lot. She absorbs the impact slightly, though still leaving her quite damaged. She raises her cannon towards Repugus as the lights return on and opens fire with all she has. Part of her feels a bit happier about that than she really should. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Elita One strikes Bug Creature with her Plasma Cannon attack! <> First Aid says, re-holstering his photon pistol. <'d help you even without the trade. But since you offered..." the medic's optics flash in the darkness as he tip toes over to Elita One. He grabs another thing from his trunk--luckily not a beanie bot--and plasters it on Elita One's front. It's a transforming bandage, and it reconfigures itself (cha-cha-choo-chee-cha-cha) over Elita's torso, covering her wounds. Combat: First Aid quickly patches up some of Elita One's minor injuries. Bug Creature is blasted right through a bulkhead by the bomb! Then as he stands up, he's shot through another bulkhead by Elita One! "That is way too many bulkheads!" Repugnus exclaims, and pounces at Elita One, claws out! Combat: Bug Creature strikes Elita One with his Shearing Claws attack! F-15E Strike Eagle somehow manages to avoid retaliation this time! He circles up near the ceiling, surveying the carnage and looking for a new target. The Global Pose Tracker marks that F-15E Strike Eagle has 'skipped' his action for this round. Elita One nods gratefully at First Aid, "Thanks. Knew I could count on you." She hefts her cannon, "Just wish I found you earlier so we could team up." With a grunt of effort, she swings the cannon about towards the torn bulkhead, "Speaking of which..." As Repugnus charges her, she raises the cannon to defend herself, but his claws seek true...also he has two claws and that's hard to parry. As the blades sink in, she grimaces in pain. "You're the second mech to charge me with my cannon aimed right at them." She shakes her head slightly as the hum of her cannon, pressed firmly to Repugnus chest warms up and fires! Combat: Elita One strikes Bug Creature with her Plasma Cannon attack! Fusillade mumbles, and rustles back to consciousness on the floor of her box seat. Outrun manages to catch his breath and assess his wounds. He got beaten up pretty good but he's still far from being out of the fight. He flips a switch on his pistol and charges back towards the corridors where all the other are. He runs sideway while firing blast after blast. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Outrun strikes Elita One with his Electro Blasters attack! Combat: Elita One falls to the ground, unconscious. Swerve peeks out from behind a sort of giant mechanical throne with a skeleton in an armored space suit draped over it holding a chalice (it's totally friggin' metal) and tries to dial in Outrun on a big awkward-looking plastic gun with an orange muzzle. Combat: Swerve analyzes Outrun for weaknesses. First Aid gives Elita a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Even in a free for all, it's great to know that team work still wins the day, Elita." He takes several steps back. "Now go get 'im, tig-...." BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM! Elita goes down. "Uh." He looks around. "This... this doesn't invalidate the team work thing." The Global Pose Tracker marks that First Aid has 'skipped' his action for this round. F-15E Strike Eagle has been avoiding First Aid because damn, you can't look First Aid in the visor and pull the trigger. But /someone/'s gonna have to take him out. "Sorry buddy," he murmurs, zooming across the open area to riddle the ground with salvo. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes First Aid with his M61 Vulcan attack! Bug Creature grins as he takes shot after shot to the chest. "Little Lita. What you don't realize is... I don't care! Go on and shoot--awww!" And before he dig into Elita again, Outrun blasts her into unconsciousness! "Thanks, buddy!" And of course, Repugnus transforms and immediately tries to kick Outrun right in the gut as he draws too near. The creature spins and twists about into Repugnus's robot mode! Combat: Repugnus strikes Outrun with his Kick attack! Power clicks back on in the spectator ship just in time for the audience to see Elita One get dropped by Dustoff. Jim Ross kicks right back into action. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're back after a technical glitch and MY GAWD, Dustoff just put Elita One into a pine box! The CO of the Autobot Military just got beat like a government mule! It's anyone's game now at this point, Sling!" Slingshot grins, watching Swerve. "Yeah, but these fools are gonna have to learn to watch the throne, JR!" Outrun is kicked in the groin by Repugnus and recoil under the impact. He's feeling pretty tired now and once again, he starts to step back but he must first get some breathing room. His superspeed kicks in as he launches a flurry of punches towards the monsterbot. "I really like how you show your appreciation!" Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Outrun strikes Repugnus with his Flurry of punches (Punch) attack! Elita One nods to First Aid, "That's the point I was hoping to" And then she gets blindsided again. Electroblasters tear her up even as she catapults Repugnus away with her blast, she may've inadvertently saved him from the shots. Taking several hits Ultra Magnus style, she groans in protest before slumping to the ground, smouldering and sparking with electric aftershocks. "Hold still, you..." mutters Swerve, the tip of his tongue (Swerve is one of the lucky ones who has a tongue, like Galvatron or G2 Ramjet) sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he squints down the iron (read: plastic) sights of the one weapon he can actually handle effectively with his oddly misproportioned hands. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Swerve strikes Outrun with his My First Blaster attack! My First Blaster sings, "Hooray! You scored a direct hit!" First Aid staggers as Air Raid finally nails him with a good shot. That's another that the Aerialbot has given him. The doctor looks up at him and grabs his photon pistol. "Ha ha, good shot, Air Raid! Boy, you're really getting good at this." First Aid didn't hear Raid's murmur so he doesn't realize that this was tougher on Raid than it was on him. As he /is/ in a competition, he goes and retaliates with a light blast. He stays away from Elita as much as he can so she isn't hit by any stray shots. Combat: First Aid strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Photon Pistol attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected F-15E Strike Eagle 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Repugnus grins evilly at Outrun as he takes punch after punch to the gut. It's denting his armor, but he doesn't seem to feel it--or maybe he's enjoying it. "Heheheheh! Oh, don't even mention it, dude! And here, have a little of THIS as a token of appreciation!" He tries to grab one of Outrun's fists as it punches at him. "Now let's play a game called, 'How many fingers will I have once Repugnus is done with them?' It's a fun game, though I though usually win when the other guy has all his fingers ripped off!" Combat: Repugnus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Repugnus strikes Outrun with his Dirty Fighting attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Outrun's Agility. (Crippled) F-15E Strike Eagle internally winces as First Aid goes on TO BE A GREAT SPORT. "No! First Aid, you're supposed to be angry with me! You can get angry, it's okay!" Then he's nailed with LIIIIIGHT and flies blindly for a few seconds, firing a barrage of lasers. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes First Aid with his Laser Barrage attack! Outrun is struck right into the chest and Swerve's attack cause his chestplate to be shattered. As he's falling back, Repugnus bites his whole left hand off! The speedster crashes into a wall nearly done for the count but somehow, he manages to transforms. This is most likely his last shot but if he's going down, he's going done in a blaze of glory! As his tires screams on the ground, he charges right towards Repugnus. Combat: Outrun sets his defense level to Fearless. Outrun falls fowards and folds into a sleek Vector WX3. Combat: Vector WX3 strikes Repugnus with his Charge attack! "Oh," Aid says as he dives around the laser beams. More than a few strike home, though, knicking off bits of red and white armour. "Right, right, angry. No no, I can do that." Aid rolls up to his feet. "Grrr!" he says. "/Grrr/! Gr- ok this is harder than it sounds." The medic summons up his inner Blades. "/Grrrr!/" he shoots at Air Raid with a high powered photon blast. Meanwhile he also keeps an optic on Outrun and Repugnus... he totally hopes Outrun wins. Combat: First Aid strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Grrr! (Laser) attack! Swerve hustles over to First Aid to provide him with covering fire! Engineers gotta stick together. Even if they're somewhat different disciplines. "Hey, you got a hell of a leak right here, let me get a clamp on that." Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Swerve quickly patches up some of First Aid's minor injuries. Repugnus is rammed into by Outrun, tumbling off of him and rolling towards the totally metal throne with the dead guy on it. He lies at its feet, groggily standing after a moment, and looking at it. "Hm." And of course, being Repugnus, he grabs the dead guy and immediately throws him at Outrun! "Here's to my respect for the dead! Of which I have none! AHAHAHAHA!" Combat: Repugnus strikes Vector WX3 with his One of the Most Disrespectful Attacks Repugnus Has Ever Made... Today (Kick) attack! Combat: Vector WX3 falls to the ground, unconscious. "Oh for-" Raid falters. First Aid's growling is either extremely pathetic or pathetically adorable. Raid muscles through and dips down to twist back into bot mode, landing in the hall and skidding to a halt. "More! Louder! Act like I just kicked a box full of kittens!" His bow materializes again and another electrified arrow is strung. "YOU'RE NEXT SWERVE!" Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Combat: Air Raid strikes First Aid with his Voltramite Warbow attack! The dead guy passes right through Outrun's windshield and ends up on his passenger seat. The speedster then lose control and crashes into a wall with smokes coming out from under his hood. Outrun is down for the count. Repugnus wins, it turns out, and he's running towards Outrun to punch him really quickly before someone else poses and attacks him! "Fixing another combatant! You hit a new low, SWERVE! And I'm gonna hit you really low, too! Hahahaha! Well, I have to, you're short! Snerk!" And just as he promised, Repugnus hurls himself at Swerve in a great big Superman punch right for his face! Combat: Repugnus strikes Swerve with his And You Just Nommed Me Too : (Punch) attack! First Aid gets very distracted as Outrun goes down. "No, Outrun! I was h.... uh... good... move... Repugnus," Aid says. His distraction is such that Air Raid totally gets the drop on him again. The electro-arrow stings Aid right in the robo-heart. Staggering back, Aid looks down at the injury. For organics you'd never do this, but Aid knows it's safe to yank it out. He then turns it around and /hurls it right back at Air Raid/. "Grrr GRRR!!" Combat: First Aid strikes Air Raid with his GRRRR!! attack! Whoa. WHOA! Air Raid gets struck with his own arrow and goes rigid as it jolts him, piercing his gut. He looks pretty worse for wear at this point. "Urgh, that's more like it. I don't suppose I could get you to patch me..." Slinging his bow over his shoulder, he runs straight for the medic, aiming to deck him in the mouthplate. Combat: Air Raid strikes First Aid with his Punch attack! "Come on, it's First Aid! You'd fix him too if- ow!" That's where he got hit. "-if you did that sort of thing and not, you know. What you do." Swerve backpedals, making mental note of where Repugnus' armor has been damaged, since his ridiculous plastic gun takes a long time to recharge and he's not likely to get through his armor otherwise. Combat: Swerve analyzes Repugnus for weaknesses. First Aid just stops even as Air Raid asks to be patched. He takes the hit, but blocks it neatly with his forearms. "Sure, but you'll need to stop attacking me for a moment." The Global Pose Tracker marks that First Aid has 'skipped' his action for this round. Silly Swerve! If only you had shot Repugnus instead of analyzed him, he might not have reared back a fist to punch Air Raid in the head! "Now that's double dastardly, Air Raid! Telling someone to fix you... WHILE YOU'RE BEATING ON THEM! You hit a low so low, it impresses even me! But I still have to punch you for it!" And he punches at Air Raid's head! Combat: Repugnus strikes Air Raid with his Punch attack! Air Raid vents heavily, his arms dropping to his sides. Is First Aid serious? First Aid would never lie. "All right, for just a moment!" And everything is going fine UNTIL PUG PUNCHES HIS HEAD. It shatters an optic. "YOU SUNNUVAGLITCH!" he screams, whirling around to deliver a roundhouse kick to whatever he can reach of the horrible bug. Combat: Air Raid strikes Repugnus with his Kick attack! Combat: Repugnus falls to the ground, unconscious. "Man, that keeps happening," Swerve says. He was winding up to punch Repugnus right on a fracture line but instead Repugnus clangs to the ground, laid out by Air Raid's sweet finishing move in slow motion from three different directions with a bassy whooshing sound. Swerve just stands there lamely over him instead. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Swerve takes extra time to steady himself. Pass "The smart money's on Swerve!" says no one, ever, in the stands or otherwise. First Aid gives Air Raid a thumbs up. "You got it." First Aid pulls out an energizer syringe and prepares to recharge Air Raid's systems... but then he sees the Aerialbot annihilate Repugnus with a sweet ass kick. "...ok, for that? You deserve two." First Aid gets out two and jabs them in. It probably hurts a bit, but after a moment Air Raid will feel better. "Now," Aid says, putting away his supplies and drawing his photon pistol. "I'm only giving you three second's grace period before I undo all that." Combat: First Aid quickly patches up some of Air Raid's minor injuries. Air Raid's energon boils with BURNING JUSTICE when he manages to kick Repugnus' lights out. "Enjoy your EAGLE TALONS!" he yells, then hisses when First Aid sticks him with the feel-better stuff. Surprisingly. And maybe not surprisingly, a pistol is drawn on him. "I owe ya'! Three seconds is plenty of time to do THIS!" He joins his fists and swings them at Swerve's face. Combat: Air Raid strikes Swerve with his Smash attack! Repugnus takes a powerful round house kick to the chest, which causes flames to burst out the back of his chest. His optics flare orange and smoke billows out of his chest as he wobbles on his feet. Then, dramatically, he finally topples over, though not before grinning with masochistic delight and flipping Air Raid the bird. He flops onto his back, smoking. Swerve is slammed to the ground unceremoniously. "Hey, I was gonna hit that guy!" At least from here he can see where Air Raid's been lasered and plasma-blasted and exploded and everything. Honestly there isn't much he couldn't attack that wouldn't be effective at this point. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Swerve analyzes Air Raid for weaknesses. Jim Ross picks back up at the commercial break. "Action continues after that commercial break, Sling. And then there were three! Air Raid, and First Aid, and would you believe it? Swerve!" Slingshot laughs. "I would believe it, JR! Air Raid learned from the best- me! I've been warning you from the start about underestimating First Aid, and Swerve is also there!" First Aid waves Air Raid off. But he is serious about that grace period. He knows he's in a fight and he doesn't plan on going easy on anyone. Unless they ask nicely of course, then obviously he has to be sporting. But then he hears a rumble in the floor plating. "Oo poof... that engine stabilizer has come loose again. I better go lock it down. Thanks for the fun, guys!" Aid waves and steps out, unknowingly violating the rules about modifying the arena and disqualifying himself! Air Raid frowns at the bird before returning his attention to the suddenly dramatic situation at hand. He knows there some humor here. Two combiners and a minibot walk into a bar. No, no... "Blurr's going to have to settle for your bronze, pal!" He lifts his foot to spike his heel into Swerve's chest, as First Aid just wanders off. Combat: Air Raid strikes Swerve with his HEEL (Kick) attack! Judges start looking for rules about modifying the arena. One looks up at JR and shrugs. "He's playing a hell of a long game, Sling!" "Uuuuurh, they're taking too long," Fusillade starts to complain in her seat. A bit more clear-headed, she growls under her intake, "I see why they separated it from the crowd this year." Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a Terran B-1B Lancer, ready for flight! "Two mechs left, Sling. Air Raid and Swerve! First Aid eliminates himself by being too nice!" Slingshot sighs. "I swear we've got like Wreckers and stuff...somewhere." "It's okay, I got this!" Swerve calls to First Aid, bravely. Or overestimatedly. Maybe both. "Actually I'm not sure he knew there was an event scheduled here," he adds thoughtfully, as Air Raid kicks him around the room a little. Swerve is pretty durable but there is a limit to what he can take and stay standing. This isn't it yet, though. He climbs back up to his feet and balls up his fists. "Okay, you wanna go? Let's go! You and me! Silver and gold! Or gold and silver, whichever." Swerve swings a right hook at... Air Raid's thigh, because that's about how high he reaches, but it's the thought that counts. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Swerve strikes Air Raid with his Eye of the Tiger! (Punch) attack! It's the thrill of the fight! Swerve rises up to meet the challenge of his rival's shin. Air Raid's strength is pretty drained, and he's mildly disturbed by the fact that Swerve IS STILL CONSCIOUS. Maybe minibots are like Nebs, maybe he has two lasercores or something. His optics go wide when Swerve brings a fist down on his leg and nearly /breaks/ it. Cursing through his teeth, he quickly pulls his bow from his shoulder and decides to try and nail Swerve pointblank. "DIE ALREADY!" Then he realizes his bow is out of charges. So he decides to wack Swerve with it. Combat: Air Raid strikes Swerve with his BOW WHIP (Kick) attack! What nobody knows is that Swerve is an Outlier and his special power is being abnormally unlikely to die in spite of however unlikely circumstances would make that. Maybe. Or he's just too stubborn or too thick-headed. "No, you!" He just stands there and takes it, and tries to kick Air Raid back in the ankle. Combat: Swerve strikes Air Raid with his Not As Useful As Teleporting Or A Grappling Hook (Kick) attack! Jim Ross continues to call the action intensely. "Now both mechs are standing their ground, kicking each other!" Slingshot just facepalms. The crowd reacts to the kicks, yelling 'yay!' when Swerve kicks, and 'boo!' when Raid kicks. And then, a chant picks up. "Slag 'em up, Swervey! Slag 'em up!" Clap clap. What is it about short red bots that piss Raid off. /Powerglide/. Lost in an abrupt daydream of hatred, Swerve kicks him in the ankle and he buckles, nearly toppling over. "Stop HITTING SO LOW!" He swings his bow down to crack over Swerve's noggin. Swindle would cry. Combat: Air Raid strikes Swerve with his MOAR (Kick) attack! Swerve is so happy! People are cheering for him! It's like he's a big hero or something! Then Air Raid boots him right through a wall. "Why is this room full of skulls?" wonders Swerve, as he looks around for some implement. Where'd his blaster go? Swerve finds something in a rack labelled 'bolt gun' that looks like a gun. Or at least, a tool that could be used as a gun. "Oh, good, bolts and rivets, that I know." Swerve picks it up and clambers up through the skulls, eyeballing Air Raid down the length of the implement. It even sort of fits his hands! Lucky. Combat: Swerve sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Swerve strikes Air Raid with his Quest Item Acquired! attack! -1 Combat: Air Raid falls to the ground, unconscious. <'Autobot'> Powerglide says, "It was like a thousand whiney voices called out and were suddenly silenced." <'Autobot'> Sky Lynx says, "There is a grave disturbance in the Matrix." <'Autobot'> Freezeout's whiny voice makes a wordless groan. Air Raid's temper gets the best of him, again, as the crowd boos him. He glances away, just briefly, and that's when Swerve hits him hard with a BOLT GUN. Energon gushes from severed lines, and he collapses onto his front with a groan. Swerve is hurled on his shiny metal ass by the brutal, unexpected kick of the weird tool(?), which turns out not to fire rivets, but instead some kind of giant rocket-powered armor-piercing exploding bullets. "Ew, sorry," he apologizes to the skulls he landed on. "Sorry everyone, that was my bad, sorry," he says reflexively at the sound of roaring from the crowd in response. "SWERVE WINS! SWERVE WINS! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY SWERVE WINS!" Jim Ross throws his hat in the air. Fireworks go off. Swerve is teleported to the winner's stage of the Spectator Ship, crowds chanting his name. A mechanized pushbroom sweeps Air Raid down the hall. <'Autobot'> Skydive sounds groggy, "Oof... So I hear from the medics Swerve just won. Well done, Swerve." At the bookies, as the news comes in, it is a scene of grief. Aliens and robots and humans alike tear their hair and rend their garments to learn that Swerve, of ALL people, has won the title of Mightiest Autobot Alive. "Who won?" asks one decrepit-looking Transformer, draped in a filthy tarp to hide his shame. He looks slowly at his ticket. It says 'Swerve: 100,000,000:1' "Wait, who won?" he asks again. A single whoop of unbridled joy is barely audible from inside the arena as the dented grey robot realizes he's the richest entity on the planet, and he doesn't have to live in a culvert anymore. He grabs the nearest Autobot, a despondent Outback as it happens, and shakes him by the shoulders. "I'll give you fifty thousand Shanix for your Autobrand!" "That'd buy a heck of a lotta dingo dongo, mate," Outback replies with tremendous relief and a ridiculous accent, prying his Autobrand off immediately with a huge knife and offering it to the grey empty. "But why d'you want it, mate?" "So I can rejoin the Autobots, of course!" "And who're you then, when you're at home?" "I'm the wealthiest Transformer in the galaxy," says the empty, throwing off his tarp. "and they used to call me... WINDCHARGER." <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Autobots! I'd like everyone to congratulate" <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Datapop, I asked for the winner list." <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "The list of winners. Of the Autobot FFA. Not the list of people who have said the name of the event out loud before." <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "..." <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Didn't any Wreckers enter or anything?" <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Or Scattershot or something?" <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Well, congratualtions. To Swerve." <'Autobot'> Freezeout makes a noise that sort of sounds like her robot lips are melted shut. <'Autobot'> Powerglide says, "Minibots for life!" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "I did! I actually won! High five!" <'Autobot'> Powerglide says, "Woooooo!" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "I mean, it's radio, but. High five!" <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Silver medal to Air Raid, Bronze to First Aid." <'Autobot'> Powerglide says, "Pretend I am high fiving you RIGHT NOW." <'Autobot'> Sky Lynx says, "Remarkable. Remind me to speak to you later about a potential role in combat operations, Swerve." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Huh." <'Autobot'> Powerglide slaps his hand against a wall to make it sound like a high five. <'Autobot'> Powerglide says, "Did you hear that?" <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Datapop, find some time for me to review our military arm with Sky Lynx and Elita tomorrow." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Oh yeah, sure thing! Space Hulk Quest is officially on my top ten!" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Thanks so much, Rodimus! And everybody else! We're all winners!" <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Hey guys, about the fight. I think with a little hard work, we can get this ship back so it can serve its original purpose of hauling cargo." <'Autobot'> Sky Lynx says, "Let me know if you need any supplies carried out that way, First Aid. A cargo vessel would be a phenomenal asset." <'Autobot'> Air Raid grunts. <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Can we mount guns on it?" First Aid returns, washing his oily hands off with a rag. "Congrats, Swerve! I'm really proud of you." He looks to the red mech. "Heya Windy." Pause. "Um." <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Oh... well, it isn't /ours/, per se." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "You want us to steal it?" <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "If that cargo is monsters, then sure!" <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "What?! No no... I'm just saying, we could fix it up." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "How can we fix something we don't own?" <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Isn't that trespass against property." <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "Oh, First Aid, this thing is huge! You have no idea what's in all the dark corners!" <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Well I'm assuming they'd give us the go-ahead." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Of course." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "I'll get you for this, Swerve! That gold was MINE!" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "If nobody owns it we have salvage rights, yeah?" <'Autobot'> Sky Lynx says, "All the same... let me know if you require my cargo bay." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Don't worry, Air Raid, I'll hang it up where you can see it." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "ARRGH!" <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Depends on who the ship is registered to and where it is located and treaty terms." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "You can hold it if you want sometimes!" <'Autobot'> Skydive chuckles. "Easy, Air Raid." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "DON'T YOU EASY ME!" <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "I'm sure somebody owns it. Look, the point isn't to gain something for ourselves." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Piracy is usually frowned upon." <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "Hardhead, they're probably long dead by now." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Or monsters." <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "Or monsters." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Maybe the monsters own it and that's their skull collection I found." Red Alert has arrived. <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Sounds like we need to put a lawyer-bot on this." <'Autobot'> Skydive says, "Mh. Yes, well, you fought well either way. Aside from shooting me, of course." <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "So, who won?" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "DATAPOP." <'Autobot'> Air Raid is clearly raging. <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "I guess I did! Oh, I think somebody needs to fix Air Raid's radio." <'Autobot'> Skydive says, "Don't mind him." <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "You?" <'Autobot'> Blurr says, "What was your name again--oh, Swerve, right. Well, congratulations. Didn't you get 3rd in the race last solar cycle?" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Hey! HEY! I GOT SILVER! HELLO!" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "I knocked out THREE GUYS!" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Why don't I get a parade!?" <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "I walked down a street, that is your parade." <'Autobot'> Skydive sighs, "I'll buy you something, Raid." <'Autobot'> Repugnus gasps. "Three whole guys!?" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Damn right!" <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "Good work Air Raid." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Th'... thanks..." <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "You were pretty awesome, Air Raid." <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "Awesome! We'll get to be in the parade together, Blurr!" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "With First Aid! And Air Raid will be there, too!" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "First Aid, you're not supposed to patch people..." <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Why not? The rules don't say anything about it." <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "He patched YOU. Because YOU asked him to, slaghead." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "It makes me feel even worse." <'Autobot'> Repugnus says, "It should! Your suffering is delicious!" <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Oh come on, Air Raid. I had a great time. I think everybody did." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Hrn, yeah." <'Autobot'> Skydive says, "Besides, silver isn't bad." <'Autobot'> Hardhead says, "It is a good showing." <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "So what's the next event?" <'Autobot'> Swerve says, "And we had an adventure inside a space hulk! I'd never been in one of those before. Learned a lot about skulls." <'Autobot'> Skydive says, "I believe the Science event, First Aid." <'Autobot'> First Aid says, "Super."